


Lima Syndrome

by VincentMeoblinn



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Parent-Child Relationship, Reid As Unsub, not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:33:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4796201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VincentMeoblinn/pseuds/VincentMeoblinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid sees a shot at happiness and takes it, but at what cost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lima Syndrome

“This is a nightmare,” Morgan breathed.

SWAT was ready to go but the BAU team was being held back. It was one of their own in there… or it had been. Reid had been gone for ten months after having been a hostage on a case. He and Morgan had both been held at gunpoint but it was Reid the unsubs had made off with when they escaped, leaving an injured Morgan behind. They’d then managed to evade capture for months at a time while the BAU assumed Reid dead since he hadn’t re-emerged after the case and the unsubs had already shown no hesitation in killing their captives. At the time they just thought the unsubs unusually lucky or clever, but after a few months they realized that Reid was helping them. It wasn’t long after that they saw him on camera helping the man and woman- a couple who routinely kissed on camera- with a bank heist. Then another and another. Hotch was devastated but pretended that he was completely calm and in control. He rationalized it all, talking often of PTSD and Stockholm syndrome, but had no way of actually contacting Reid to talk him out of his situation.

Now there was a whole new hostage situation on hand. Reid had shown up at a local hospital with one of the unsubs- a woman by the name of Rachel Gibbs- and held a group of surgeons and nurses in the maternity ward at gunpoint. He was forcing them to deliver Rachel’s child by cesarean section. He’d harmed no one so far, but he had terrorized them all according to the nurse allowed to call out to announce their presence and shut down the ward. The poor woman was nearly hysterical as she told the police to make sure no one came down the hallway rigged with explosives. In the background Morgan could hear Reid screaming at the doctors and nurses, swearing in a way that he’d never thought the young man capable of.

Morgan couldn’t get Reid on the phone. When the nurse tried he just hung up on them without saying a word. His focus was on his pregnant team member. Morgan gave up negotiations, deciding that it was more likely they would get something from Reid when the baby was delivered rather than before.

“He’s too emotional right now,” Morgan told them, “There’s no way he’s going to focus on anything except getting George out of there alive with that baby delivered.”

“So what are we going with here?” Rossi asked, “Is he with them both? With her? Could that be his child in there?”

“No idea,” Morgan replied, “I didn’t get a sense of any of it and there was no intimacy displayed at any of the crime scenes. It would explain his sudden and intense devotion to the two, and the absence of John Gibbs.”

“I think it’s more likely John Gibbs is waiting in the wings to come in and get the kid, Reid, and Rachel out.”

“So how do we proceed?” JJ asked, “Treat the child as his?”

“Guys, I don’t think negotiations are going to be possible,” Morgan replied, shaking his head, “He’s not going to talk to us until that baby is delivered, and even then he might be ready to go out swinging while she escapes with John Gibbs.”

“So we might be seeing him gunned down today,” Prentiss whispered.

No one replied. They didn’t want to think of it even now. They would just have to hope that negotiations were possible once the surgery was complete.

XXX

The phone rang and Morgan bolted for it.

“Morgan?” Reid’s voice came over the line, his tone tense.

“Reid, you need to give us a way to get you all out alive,” Morgan told him immediately.

“I’d like nothing more,” Reid replied, his voice shaking, “So I want you in here. This started with you at my side, I want you here now.”

“In a heartbeat, Pretty Boy,” Morgan replied, “But you know I need more than that. They aren’t going to send in another hostage for you.”

“I’ll send out the surgeons in a moment. They’ve just taken the baby out. They leave and you come in.”

“Deal,” Morgan agreed, “Then what?”

“Then you take me into custody,” Reid replied.

“And Rachel?”

“She won’t be a problem,” Reid replied, and promptly hung up the phone.

Morgan headed into the place, gun on his hip, while the two surgeons slowly walked down the hallway with wide eyes. They’d seen no sign of explosives in the hallway and were theorizing that it was a ruse, but Morgan wasn’t about to take any chances. He was walking slowly and keeping an eye on everything.

“They’re in 2C,” A surgeon spoke with wide eyes, “The woman isn’t going to make it. She was bleeding out when he threw us out and called you. He wouldn’t let us save her.”

“Shit,” Morgan breathed. That wasn’t good. If she died Reid might go off the deep end, “The baby?”

“Fine that we saw,” The doctor replied, the exited the double doors behind him.

Morgan walked down the empty hallway past rooms that had been evacuated of the women who had been in labor in them a few hours earlier. 2C loomed before him and Morgan took a few breaths before stepping in. He had Hotch listening in his ear, but he was essentially on his own.

Morgan opened the door and three nurses stood there looking terrified.

“You can go now,” Reid spoke from where he stood by the bed containing Rachel.

“Please, she…”

“Just go,” Reid said softly.

Reid’s back was towards Morgan. He was standing over Rachel holding the baby in his arms and humming to it softly. Morgan approached to find Rachel pale and drenched in sweat. Her eyes fluttered open as Morgan approached.

“P-please,” Rachel whimpered, making weak eye contact with Morgan.

“Shhh,” Reid whispered, moving away from her to stand by the far wall and put more distance between himself and Morgan. The baby wasn’t crying, but as Reid turned he realized it was because it already had a bottle in it’s mouth rather than something bad.

“Reid, she needs a doctor. Urgently.”

“I know,” Reid replied, his tone disinterested.

“You… you what?” Morgan asked.

Reid smiled up at Morgan, “He’s beautiful, Morgan.”

“Reid. Spencer. She needs a doctor. Let me get her out of here,” Morgan’s hand went to the nearest stretcher but Reid made a scolding sound in the back of his throat.

“She stays there.”

Morgan glanced down at the growing pool of blood beneath the operating table, “She’s not going to make it, Reid.”

“Not now, Morgan,” Reid frowned at him, “I’m saying hello to my son.”

“What about the mother, man?” Morgan asked.

“She’s a criminal,” Reid frowned, “A thief, murderer, and rapist. Let her die.”

“She should stand trial and- wait, a rapist?” Morgan frowned.

“Mm-hm,” Reid nodded, smiling down at his child again, “His name’s Jason. Jason Reid. Let everyone know, okay? I signed the birth certificate over there, but I wanted someone to hear it from me.”

“That sounds way to defeatist to me,” Morgan told him frantically, “You’re going to make it out of this and raise Jason yourself, Spence. I get dibs on godfather, okay?”

“Of course,” Reid nodded calmly, “I was hoping you’d raise him.”

“You not hearing me? You’re making it out of this alive and _you’re_ raising him. Jason needs his daddy.”

Reid sighed, finally taking his eyes off of Jason to make eye contact with Morgan, “You’re worried I’m going for death by cop. I’m not. I’m turning myself in. I’ll tell you what the M.E. is going to find out: I dosed Rachel with blood thinners. She was doomed before she ever walked in here. I did a lot of research. It won’t hurt Jason, but I’m still a murderer now. I’ll be locked up for a long time and I want him with someone who can love him and care for him to my standards. That’s you. Just let me hold him a little longer, okay? Then we’ll leave together.”

“Okay,” Morgan replied, his heart breaking for his friend, “Okay, we’ll wait.”

Morgan approached slowly while Reid lowered himself into a stool and smiled down into his child’s eyes, “Look at him, Derek. He’s so perfect. I never thought I’d have a child, you know? I prefer men. Maeve was the only woman I ever wanted and I lost her so soon… Now I finally have a family but…”

Reid sighed, a tear trickling down his cheek. Morgan reached out and brushed it aside, “It’s going to be okay, Pretty Boy. We’ll get a good lawyer. We’ll plead insanity. PTSD. Whatever it takes.”

“It won’t work once they find John,” Reid sighed.

“Tell me you didn’t kill him, too,” Morgan pleaded.

“No,” Reid replied, “I abandoned him a state over. He’ll have trouble hitchhiking with his face on the news. He’ll tell you what I already know: That Rachel fell in love with me and I encouraged it. I manipulated her so I could get my son on my terms.”

“You did it to survive.”

“Lima Syndrome,” Reid replied, “She had Lima Syndrome. She’d have let me go at any point in time, but I couldn’t leave once I knew she was pregnant. I did the math. She and John were fighting and he wasn’t sleeping with her when she conceived. Jason is _my_ son.”

“Of course he is,” Morgan assured him, “And we’ll get this fixed.”

Reid smiled softly, staring down at his child, “He’s so beautiful. He was worth it, you know? Worth every horrible minute.”

“Yeah,” Morgan nodded, “I’m gonna put a call through and let them know you’ve surrendered. Okay? We’re surrendering here.”

“Yeah,” Reid nodded, “Sure. Do you think you could bring him to visit me in prison? I mean, just for a bit? I know it’s not the healthiest environment so I’ll understand if you don’t want him there when he’s older but-“

“Let’s talk about this later,” Morgan insisted, turning on his radio, “Hotch, Reid’s surrendered. He’s coming out. He still has the baby in his arms. Get everyone to stand down.”

“ _Acknowledged_ ,” Hotch replied.

They turned and headed down the hallway together, Reid still talking to his son and admiring him as he finished his first bottle. When they stepped outside Morgan urged Reid to give the child to a nurse, and accepted the documents Reid pressed into his hands afterwards.

“Take care of him,” Reid pleaded as Hotch handcuffed him.

“I will,” Morgan replied, and followed the nurse inside with Jason.

“Why?” Hotch asked as he pushed Reid into the SUV to drive him back to Quantico for a full interrogation, “Just answer that. Why?”

Reid gave Hotch a tearful smile, “I had a chance at happiness and I took it.”

“How has this gotten you _anything_ but grief?”

Reid nodded towards the hospital, “I had it. My happiness. It’s out of my reach now, but for just a moment there… he was mine.”

 

**Lima syndrome**

A converse of Stockholm syndrome called  _Lima syndrome_  has been proposed, in which abductors develop sympathy for their hostages. There are many reasons why Lima Syndrome can develop in abductors. Sometimes when there are multiple abductors, one or more of them will start to disagree with what they are doing and influence one another, or they just begin to feel bad and don't have the heart to continue hurting their captives.


End file.
